What does it mean for a drone to yield right of way under Part 107?

Under 14 CFR Part 107.37, a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) must give way to all manned aircraft at all times, without exception. This means the remote pilot in command must maneuver the drone to avoid any potential collision, regardless of which aircraft technically has the conventional right of way. The rule places the full burden of separation on the remote pilot, not on the manned aircraft crew.

How does a remote pilot see and avoid other aircraft when flying a drone?

14 CFR Part 107.31 requires the remote pilot in command, the person manipulating the controls, or a visual observer to be able to see the unmanned aircraft at all times, which supports the see-and-avoid responsibility outlined in 107.37. Remote pilots must continuously scan the sky for manned aircraft, birds, and other hazards and be ready to maneuver or land immediately. Because a drone cannot see other aircraft on its own, situational awareness depends entirely on the human crew maintaining a clear line of sight and staying alert to the surrounding airspace.

Does a drone ever have the right of way over a manned aircraft under Part 107?

No — under 14 CFR Part 107.37(a), a small unmanned aircraft must always yield the right of way to all manned aircraft, with no exceptions based on altitude, direction of flight, or phase of flight. This rule exists because manned aircraft crews may not be able to detect a small drone, so the responsibility for collision avoidance is placed entirely on the remote pilot. Even if a manned aircraft is maneuvering in an unexpected or non-standard way, the remote pilot in command must still take all necessary steps to avoid a collision.

Part 107 Yielding Right of Way to Manned Aircraft

One of the most fundamental rules governing small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) operations under 14 CFR Part 107 is deceptively simple: your drone must always yield the right of way to every other aircraft in the sky. This is not merely a courtesy — it is a federal regulation with serious safety and legal implications. Understanding exactly what this rule requires, why it exists, and how to apply it in the real world is essential both for passing the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate knowledge test and for flying safely every time you launch.

Manned aircraft pilots operate under instrument or visual flight rules, manage complex cockpits, communicate with ATC, and navigate busy airspace — all simultaneously. A small UAS represents an additional, often nearly invisible hazard to those pilots. Part 107 addresses this asymmetry by placing the full burden of collision avoidance squarely on the remote pilot in command (RPIC) of the drone.

The Core Rule: See and Avoid

Section 107.37 states clearly that no person may operate a small unmanned aircraft in a manner that creates a collision hazard with any other aircraft, and that the remote pilot must yield the right of way to all other aircraft. This rule applies unconditionally — there is no situation in which a drone has the right of way over a manned aircraft. It does not matter whether the manned aircraft is flying VFR or IFR, whether it is a commercial airliner or a private ultralight, or whether it is operating legally or not. The drone must yield. Period.

The phrase see and avoid is borrowed from traditional manned aviation but adapted for UAS operations. In manned aviation, each pilot is expected to scan for traffic and maneuver to avoid conflicts. For a remote pilot, the challenge is significantly harder: you are standing on the ground looking up, often with a small aircraft against a cluttered or bright sky background, with no cockpit instruments, no traffic advisory system in the aircraft itself, and limited depth perception at altitude. Part 107 acknowledges this difficulty but does not reduce the standard — the obligation to see and avoid remains firm.

What Yielding Right of Way Actually Means in Practice

Yielding right of way means taking positive action — changing altitude, direction, or both — so that your drone is not on a collision course with any manned aircraft. It is not enough to simply hope the other aircraft sees you or changes course. The RPIC must act first and must act definitively. There are several practical strategies for meeting this requirement:

Descend promptly: If a manned aircraft is approaching at or near your operating altitude, the fastest and most reliable action is usually to descend. Descending keeps your drone well below the traffic pattern and away from fixed-wing traffic lanes.
Land immediately if necessary: If there is any doubt about maintaining safe separation, landing is always a legally and operationally acceptable response. A drone on the ground is a drone that poses no mid-air collision risk.
Maintain situational awareness before and during the flight: Check NOTAMs, TFRs, and nearby airport traffic patterns before you fly. Knowing where manned traffic is likely to appear lets you position and operate proactively.
Use a visual observer (VO): Part 107 allows a remote pilot to use one or more visual observers to help maintain awareness of the airspace. A VO can watch for approaching traffic while the RPIC focuses on the UAS, effectively extending the team's ability to see and avoid.
Keep the sUAS within visual line of sight (VLOS): The VLOS requirement in Part 107.31 is partly a safety rule — you cannot reliably yield right of way to traffic you cannot see. Keeping the drone close and visible makes collision avoidance far more achievable.

Why This Rule Exists: The Safety Logic

The physics of mid-air collisions explain the rule perfectly. A small UAS struck by a manned aircraft can cause catastrophic damage to the aircraft's engine, windshield, or control surfaces. Bird strikes already cost the aviation industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually and have brought down aircraft. A drone, which is denser and more rigid than most birds of similar size, poses an equal or greater structural threat. At the speeds that even slow general aviation aircraft fly — 80 to 120 knots in the pattern — the closing speed between a descending Cessna and a hovering drone can exceed 150 feet per second. There is virtually no time for a manned pilot to react.

Additionally, manned pilots have very limited downward visibility, especially in high-wing aircraft like the Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee. A drone operating directly below an aircraft on final approach may never be seen by the manned pilot at all. This means the only reliable layer of protection is the remote pilot's own situational awareness and willingness to yield aggressively.

Airspace Context: Where Collision Conflicts Are Most Likely

Certain airspace environments carry a higher risk of encountering manned traffic, and a competent RPIC must understand them:

Class G airspace near airports: Uncontrolled airports often have traffic patterns beginning at 1,000 feet AGL. Drones operating near uncontrolled airports (even outside the 400-foot AGL advisory ceiling) should be especially vigilant for traffic in the pattern.
Near heliports and helicopter routes: Helicopters operate at low altitudes and often along rivers, roads, and urban corridors. They may appear suddenly and may not be in contact with ATC.
Agricultural areas: Crop dusters and agricultural aircraft often operate at extremely low altitudes — sometimes below 50 feet AGL — making conflicts with drones operating at typical altitudes less common, but still possible during climbs and descents.
Approach and departure corridors: Even at lower altitudes, aircraft on instrument approaches or visual approaches can descend steeply and quickly through airspace that a remote pilot might consider safely below normal traffic.

Key Numbers and Rules

107.37(a): The specific regulation requiring the small UAS to yield right of way to all other aircraft.
400 feet AGL: The general operating ceiling for sUAS under Part 107 in uncontrolled airspace. This is not a right-of-way rule but a structural safeguard that keeps drones well below most en-route traffic.
No exemptions: There is no waiver available under Part 107 for the see-and-avoid / yield right-of-way requirement. Even when operating under a Part 107 waiver for BVLOS or night operations, the obligation to yield right of way to manned aircraft persists.
Visual Line of Sight: Required under 107.31; the RPIC or VO must be able to see the sUAS at all times with unaided vision (except corrective lenses) to enable effective collision avoidance.
Waivers that do not eliminate the rule: BVLOS waivers require robust detect-and-avoid systems precisely because standard VLOS-based see-and-avoid is no longer available to meet the yielding requirement.

Common Test Traps

"Drone has right of way over other drones": Part 107 does not establish a right-of-way hierarchy between multiple UAS. It only establishes that all manned aircraft have right of way over sUAS. Between two drones, there is no explicit regulatory hierarchy, though general collision-avoidance principles apply.
Confusing yielding with stopping: Some students assume that hovering in place satisfies the yielding requirement. Hovering directly in the path of an approaching aircraft is not yielding — you must actively move out of the way.
Assuming low altitude equals safety: Operating at 50 feet AGL near an airport does not guarantee safety from manned traffic. Aircraft on visual approaches or helicopters in transit routinely fly at those altitudes.
Thinking ATC authorization removes the obligation: Receiving authorization to fly in controlled airspace (via LAANC or FAA DroneZone, for example) means you are permitted to be in that airspace — it does not give you any right of way over manned traffic. The yielding rule is absolute.
Overlooking the visual observer's role: The test may ask who bears responsibility for collision avoidance when a VO is used. The answer is still the RPIC — the VO assists, but legal responsibility for see-and-avoid always rests with the remote pilot in command.

Mastering the right-of-way rule is not just about passing one or two test questions. It reflects the core philosophy of Part 107: small UAS are welcome participants in the National Airspace System, but they operate as guests in a system built around manned aviation. The remote pilot who internalizes that philosophy — and who plans, positions, and operates accordingly — keeps every flight safe for everyone sharing the sky.